High Museum of Art Names Lily Siegel New Assistant Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art

Atlanta, Sept. 24, 2012 — The High Museum of Art is pleased to announce the appointment of Lily Siegel as the Museum's assistant curator of modern and contemporary art. Siegel is currently a curatorial associate at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) and will join the High on Oct. 8.

Siegel has been involved in all aspects of the curatorial department at MOCA since 2008, including serving as the curatorial representative of the MOCA Think Tank – a cross-departmental committee that oversees a residency program for Southern California artists.

As assistant curator of modern and contemporary art, Siegel will work closely with Wieland Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Michael Rooks, to develop original exhibitions, organize traveling exhibitions, foster innovative partnerships in Atlanta and elsewhere, and further build the museum's growing collection of contemporary art.

"We are excited to have Lily join our curatorial staff," said Michael Rooks. "Lily has an impressive record of organizing thought-provoking exhibitions and we look forward to bringing her energy and enthusiasm to the High."

Most recently, Siegel assisted with the organization of the exhibitions "Ends of the Earth: Land Art to 1974" and "Martin Kippenberger: The Problem Perspective" at MOCA. She was also the project coordinator of the exhibition "Dennis Hopper Double Standard," and curator of the galleries devoted to MOCA's Artist Advisory Council in "The Artist's Museum."

"I am thrilled to join the team at the High and to become part of the Atlanta arts community. Michael's vision to grow the region's knowledge and appreciation of contemporary art is one I passionately share. This is a very exciting time for the arts in the Southeast; I am honored to be a part of the growth."

Siegel received a Master of Arts degree in modern art history, theory and criticism from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts degree in visual arts from the University of California, San Diego. She also received the NextGen Arts Professional Development Grant in 2011.

High Museum of Art
Founded in 1905 as the Atlanta Art Association, the High is the leading art museum in the southeastern United States. With more than 13,000 works of art in its permanent collection, the High Museum of Art has an extensive anthology of 19th- and 20th-century American and decorative art; significant holdings of European paintings; a growing collection of African American art; and burgeoning collections of modern and contemporary art, photography and African art. The High is also dedicated to supporting and collecting works by Southern artists and is distinguished as the only major museum in North America to have a curatorial department specifically devoted to the field of folk and self-taught art. The High's media arts department produces acclaimed annual film series and festivals of foreign, independent and classic cinema. In November 2005 the High opened three new buildings by architect Renzo Piano that more than doubled the Museum's size, creating a vibrant "village for the arts" at the Woodruff Arts Center in Midtown Atlanta. For more information about the High, visit www.High.org.

The Woodruff Arts Center
The Woodruff Arts Center is ranked among the top four arts centers in the nation. The Woodruff is unique in that it combines four visual and performing arts divisions on one campus as one not-for-profit organization. Opened in 1968, the Woodruff Arts Center is home to the Alliance Theatre, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the High Museum of Art and Young Audiences. To learn more about the Woodruff Arts Center visit www.woodruffcenter.org.